Chapter 7 – [Hero] That Night
We set up another tent and set up camp a little early.
Seria shares one tent with Arin and Yuna, and Jeren and I share the remaining tent.
Since it was my daily life to camp on the roadside or in the mountains, it was rather awkward for me to sleep at the inn.
If you are resting soundly in a comfortable bed without worrying about night shifts, it seems that you are doing something bad.
We have to defeat the demon king as soon as possible and save everyone.
I felt like I was the only one resting comfortably, so a corner of my heart was stabbed.
Everyone says it’s useless worrying, but I’m still uncomfortable somewhere.
So, this kind of camping was more comfortable mentally.
The harder my body is, the more I feel that I am dedicated to the world.
“Hero?”
I guess I was deep in thought.
Mr. Jeren called me, who was standing in place.
“Oh, I was thinking about something else for a while. What are you doing?”
“No. I just called because I was worried because he was just standing there.”
“Yeah, that’s right…”
Did I look that anxious?
As Arin once said, it seems that I always seem insecure in the eyes of others.
It’s not necessarily like that though.
Could it be that the other party members are feeling anxious because of me?
With that thought in mind, I felt the need to be a little more careful.
“I just thought about it for a while because I had something to worry about. Let’s have dinner now!”
I acted more lively for no reason and took care not to lose the atmosphere of the party.
After dinner, it got dark little by little.
Yuni asked the fire spirit to light a bonfire that would last all night.
It’s time to slowly decide on a night watch.
Excluding her patient Seria, the three of us, Uni and Arin, planned to stay vigil in turns, but Seria strongly demanded that she could not fall alone, so she also stood vigil.
I said that it would be okay to take a break today even though I am not feeling well, but it seems that he has no intention of listening.
Is it really okay?
I’m worried, but she said it’s fine, so it’ll be fine.
Still, in the hope that she would get a good rest, she entrusted the second of her night shift to her.
If you’ve ever had a night watch, you’ll know, but the first and last places are at least comfortable.
Because I don’t have to wake up and go back to sleep.
So I decided to give the first night watch to Seria and the last to Uni.
The other day, Arin was the last one, so it would be good for her to return fairly.
I voluntarily assumed the middle position.
Although they are all companions of the hero who was ordained by the goddess, it was always my role to defeat the demon lord.
In fact, you don’t have to go through all this trouble with me.
Even though they had the right to refuse, they chose to save the world with me.
It is my feeling that I want to repay them even a little bit.
Of course, there is a bit of a selfish part that says that it puts my mind at ease.
As I was making plans for my night watch, Mr. Jeren approached me and asked for a favor.
“Hero, I want to keep watch too.”
“Yes?”
Mr. Jeren?
Although Mr. Jerrin is also a member of our party, he was always a porter, so I had no intention of entrusting him with such a task.
“I also want to be of some help to the hero’s party.”
I could see his determination in his eyes.
I never thought that even Jeren would dedicate himself to the party like this… !
I prayed to the Goddess for allowing me to meet such good colleagues.
Mr. Jeren said he was fine even in the most difficult position, but I didn’t feel comfortable doing that.
So, Seria, Jeren, me, Arin, and Uni decided to stay vigil in that order.
For the sake of her fairness, and sorry for Mr. Jeren, Arin placed her at the end of her life because Uni helped her through the hardships last time.
Mr. Jeren smiled broadly as if he liked my opinion.
It was the first time I’d seen him smile, so I was a little surprised.
There were no complaints about the rest.
Except for Seria.
“Me, who’s next to me… ?”
A look of bewilderment appeared on Seria’s face.
“Mr. Jeren also said that he would like to stay vigil together. They say they want to help our party.”
“… That, that’s right.”
Seria turns her head away with her face flushed.
Is there something you don’t like?
I said it was okay to change the order if that was the case, but she said it didn’t matter if she was sorry again.
Is it dissatisfaction that Mr. Jeren is next in order?
I couldn’t quite understand why, since we weren’t on night watch together, but I was still willing to change if I didn’t like her.
“Oh, no. Doesn’t care. Yeah, it’s just shifts anyway.”
She muttered, nodding her head.
I’m not sure, but I’m glad you seem to understand.
“Then Seria, it may be difficult, but please take good care of me the first time. It’s okay if you’re having a hard time, don’t overdo it.”
“Because I’m not sick… I’m really fine!”
Seria hesitated and lowered her head.
Still, looking at her, she seems to have improved a lot.
Her face is not as red as in the morning. We can start again tomorrow.
I trusted Seria and went back to the tent to put her to sleep.
Jeren had already laid out her sleeping bag and prepared for bed.
“Haha, nothing, but I’m tired for some reason, so I think I’ll fall asleep soon.”
“I see. If you are tired, go to bed first. I will sleep soon too.”
I also chimed in and laid out my sleeping bag.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll close my eyes first. Have a good night, warrior.”
“Yes, please rest in peace.”
And Mr. Jeren immediately closed her eyes.
I must have been very tired She must have been exhausted after carrying that heavy load all day.
Until he came, I could guess the fatigue because I was carrying the load.
I needed to get some more sleep, so I changed my clothes and lay down in my sleeping bag.
Tomorrow we can set off again, and in three days at least we will be in Daeron.
Four Heavenly Kings… Can I really win?
Thinking about what to do next, I fell asleep.
***
“Hero, warrior!”
Someone shook me awake.
What’s going on? Oh, it’s nighttime.
“Yes… It happened.”
I was tired and wanted to sleep more, but I forced myself to get up.
“Ah, warrior. You are awake.”
It was Mr. Jeren.
I had just returned from my vigil, so I was wearing a coat.
“Thank you for volunteering for the vigil, Mr. Jeren. You could just sleep.”
When I awkwardly thanked him, he grinned.
I seem to see him smiling a lot these days.
“What, thanks to you, it was fun.”
Is there anything fun about staying up all night?
I wondered for a moment, but I thought it was just politeness.
“Then suffer. Warrior.”
Even though Mr. Jeren must be tired, he waved his hand until I left.
He is also a good person
It was a bit chilly when we got out of the tent, but not too cold.
If this is the case, I don’t think I need a coat. You’ll be sitting in front of a campfire anyway.
A bonfire was burning with firewood that had been piled up a little sloppily.
The fire spirit smoked it, so it’s okay if you don’t manage the fire.
I sat down on the chair Yuni had made at the request of the Earth Spirit.
“Huh?”
However, something feels strange about the chair.
When I got up and checked, the chair was slightly damp.
What?
Looking around the chair, everything else was fine, but only the top was damp.
It looked like it was wet, but when I touched it, it was warm.
Why is it wet here?
There was nothing to do until the shift anyway, so I thought about it for a while, but I couldn’t figure it out at all.
Could it be that Yuni was trying to harden the chair by spraying water on the soil?
That’s about all I could think of in my head.
Maybe it’s because I poured too much water and it’s not dry yet.
For some reason, it seemed that if it was Uni, it would be enough.
He is still a childhood friend with a lot of loose corners.
However, there was also a friendly and kind side, such as following along saying that I couldn’t spend it alone.
I am still grateful for this.
Arin and Seria met relatively late, so we hung out together for a while.
I caught a wild dog for the first time, solved a request from a nearby village, and met Arin and Seria as I progressed little by little.
At first, both of them were not used to this kind of work and suffered a lot.
Even though she became a spirit sage, she still remembers Yuni running away with tears in her eyes because she didn’t know how to summon her spirit.
Every time that happened, I felt sorry for Uni.
UNI. She is actually the village chief’s daughter.
Of course, I had the biggest house and the most money in the village, but if I didn’t follow me and stayed in the village, I would be able to live comfortably for the rest of my life.
I was grateful and sorry for the fact that she gave up on everything and followed me.
If I had been a little better at taking care of myself, she wouldn’t have suffered so much.
As she pondered for a moment, thinking of the old days, the entrance to the tent next to her shook for a moment, and her familiar face came out of the room.
It was uni
She looked around for a moment, looked around her, and smiled brightly at me.
“Wow, eh… Oops.”
She tried to call me out loud, but came out cautiously, perhaps realizing that her colleagues were sleeping next to her.
“It was time for Eric to stand. Hehe, I woke up at the right time.”
She chuckled and laughed.
“Huh? You still have plenty of time left. You must be tired, why don’t you get some more sleep?”
I can stay awake by myself, so there is no need for her to be awake as well.
Thinking that way, I spoke softly, and Uni looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“As expected, it’s as Seria and Arin unnie said. Eric stupid.”
“Uh? Why?”
Did I miss anything?
“Heh, it’s something that an idiot doesn’t have to know about.”
Uni said that and she came next to me.
After snooping around for a while, as if to sit down together, he seemed to realize that there were not enough seats.
“The chair is a bit narrow.”
Then Yuni summoned the earth spirit to make the chair I was sitting on wider.
It is the size that two people can sit on, no, it has become longer than that.
“Why, why are you making it so long?”
When I asked in bewilderment, Yuni shyly smiled.
“I’m going to sleep here until it’s my turn.”
“Uh?”
Before I could say anything, she sneaked up on her chair and lay down on my lap.
“Hehe, Eric Pillow!”
“UNI…”
Her warm body heat felt on her thighs as well.
Yuni touched my thighs.
“It’s itchy.”
“Whoops, it’s a punishment. Eight! Eight!”
“Hey, stop! It tickles! What did you do?”
“A bee that doesn’t know what a bee is! Eight!”
“Ahaha!”
That’s how Yuni and I played with each other for a while.
“… Eric, doesn’t it remind you of the old days?”
She laughed while fiddling with it for a long time, and Yuni, exhausted, looked at her bonfire, she said.
Clap.
She sparks from the campfire.
“When you two go together?”
“Huh.”
Of course I remember.
Because I was thinking about it just a moment ago.
“The two of us had fun back then.”
“Now?”
“I still enjoy it. Seria unnie and Arin unnie are also good people.”
She laughed
“Ah, Mr. Jeren too.”
“Mr. Jeren?”
I wasn’t expecting to hear his name here, so I was a little surprised.
“Even though I carry such a heavy load alone, they don’t complain. Other than that, they help me a lot.”
“… I see.”
I honestly didn’t know.
Because my eyes were looking straight ahead.
“I thought so.”
She turned her body around and looked at me on her lap.
Her transparent eyes were looking straight into my eyes.
“Eric is always enthusiastic, but sometimes he takes a break and listens to the sounds around him.”
She lifted one of her arms and gently stroked my face.
Is it because it’s burning? Her face looked redder than usual.
“How are you now? What do you hear?”
The sound of a bonfire burning.
The sound of bugs chirping in the woods.
And heartbeat.
I couldn’t tell if it was hers or mine, and I heard a strong heartbeat in my ears.
Reading my thoughts, she smiled softly.
“That’s the sound with you.”
Sound with me…
What I didn’t realize even though I was right next to it.
It was so obvious that I had forgotten about it.
“… Thank you.”
Maybe I was in too much of a hurry.
I had been dragging her around all day today, but I hadn’t even thought to check her complexion.
Instead of being angry at me, Yuni gently rebuked me.
I’m embarrassed.
Let’s be a little calmer, even for her sake.
Give yourself enough time to listen to the sounds around you.
“Huh. That’s enough.”
Then she lowered her arm.
I held her hand involuntarily as the warmth seemed to be moving away.
“Oh…”
“Mi-sorry!”
When she took her hand away in surprise, she looked at her hand with her blank eyes for a moment, then she calmly put her hands together in front of her chest.
“No. Thank you too.”
Then she happily closed her eyes.
Yuni’s brown hair was in a mess as she closed her eyes.
I spent the rest of her time fixing her hair.
“… By the way, wasn’t what I just said a little nice?”
“Huh. I was honestly amazed.”
“That’s actually what I heard when I first called the spirit. My master taught me.”
“… Was it like that?”
Somehow, I thought it was too poetic for Uni.
“Ah! Now then, you made that face!”
“Oh, isn’t it?”
She pounded on my chest.
Feeling that pleasant touch, I stayed with Uni until Arin, who was next in line, got up on her own and came out of the tent.
